Navarro to lead Italdesign as García departs

José Navarro has been appointed to lead the Design Business Unit at Italdesign, taking responsibility for coordinating creative activities across the company’s automotive, transportation and product design operations. Meanwhile, the outgoing García has joined Electrolux as head of design. 

Navarro, who graduated in industrial and product design from the Universitat Politècnica de València, joined Italdesign in 1996 and has spent nearly three decades at the firm. During that time he has held a range of senior roles and contributed to several projects developed at the company’s headquarters in Moncalieri alongside founders Giorgetto Giugiaro and Fabrizio Giugiaro.

His career has also included international assignments, supporting activities connected to Italdesign’s California subsidiary in the United States, which was established to strengthen links with design and engineering research centres operated by major manufacturers in the region.

Navarro later went on to lead design operations in Spain and Asia, serving as head of design for Italdesign’s Barcelona and China studios. He also gained management experience as general manager of Italdesign China.

According to the company, Navarro’s long tenure has given him a deep understanding of Italdesign’s heritage, culture and global operations, experience that mirrors the company’s own evolution as it expanded internationally while continuing to develop new design and engineering capabilities.

“José Navarro represents the best example of internal growth within Italdesign,” said Antonio Casu, chief executive officer of the company. “Over the years he has developed a deep understanding of our creative DNA and contributed to strengthening our presence in key international markets. His experience, global mindset and strong design culture make him the right person to lead our creative direction with expertise, passion and a clear strategic focus.”

Navarro steps into the role following the departure of Joaquin Garcia Sanchis, who is leaving the company after serving as head of design since 2023 and helped steer the studio through a period of strategic repositioning. Garcia joined Italdesign after senior roles at brands including Seat, Cupra and Nio, and was brought in to lead the company’s creative activities across automotive and product design.

During his tenure, Garcia emphasised the importance of design as a strategic tool for brand identity and transformation, particularly as traditional carmakers faced competition from new global entrants and shifting consumer expectations. In interviews with Car Design News, he highlighted Italdesign’s role as a partner helping manufacturers clarify and evolve their design DNA in an increasingly complex mobility landscape.

Garcia also pushed a more collaborative approach to design development, describing Italdesign’s process as “co-creation” with client OEMs, where external perspectives from the design house help brands reinterpret and future-proof their identities while respecting their core heritage.

Alongside this strategic positioning, Garcia advocated for the careful adoption of emerging technologies in the creative process. He described artificial intelligence as a powerful tool that could enhance design capabilities and accelerate workflows, while stressing that human vision and authorship must remain central to the discipline.

Casu credited Garcia with helping to evolve the studio’s creative outlook, introducing a more sustainable, digitally aware and human-centric perspective to Italdesign’s design philosophy.

“We thank him for his contribution and wish him every success in his future professional endeavours,” Casu said.

In his new role at Electrolux Group, García Sanchis will be responsible for defining and driving the company’s overall design vision. He will lead all the design teams across Electrolux, AEG, Frigidaire brands, ensuring a cohesive creative direction while continuing to elevate design excellence across the organization. 

García Sanchis will report to Elena Breda, SVP Product Strategy, Innovation, Sustainability who said: “I am very happy to welcome Joaquín to Electrolux Group. With his forward-looking design leadership, he will be instrumental in shaping a distinct and consistent branded design, delivering a seamless end-to-end consumer experience, and translating our brand identity and strategic pillars into clear and distinct visual languages across all brands, products and regions.”

“I am excited to join the Electrolux Group family, one of the world’s leading appliance manufacturers, as it embarks on a new chapter to strengthen and elevate the identity excellce of its brands. I believe in a holistic and human-centric design approach that creates meaningful products and experiences for our consumers in their daily lives,” adds García Sanchis.